What’s going on Fanatics! It’s time for my favorite article of the week. It’s the CycloneFanatic.com Mailbag…week two. We’ve got a lot to talk about this week too. The football team is on the verge of bowl eligibility. Hoops started this week for the men and the women.
Let’s dig in.
Clones21 writes…How crazy will it get in here if HB commits to ISU?
CW: Let me put it this way. If HB commits to Iowa State next Friday, the Ames Police Department better beef up security for the evening. The place will go crazy. Then, we all need to prepare ourselves for the inevitable “Brackins should stay another year” threads or the “Gilstrap needs another season” comments. It’d be mass hysteria in Ames.
Having said that, what if all three of those players actually were on the roster next year? Would Iowa State be a national title contender? Oh boy. I need to stop this paragraph now.
Clonefan32 writes…Our frontcourt seems set, but if one thing was clear last night it was that we have several different options in the backcourt. It seems like each guy brings a very different skill set, which is obviously advantageous to the team at the whole. There are only so many minutes to go around, however…so who do you see emerging and taking the lion’s-share of the minutes, and who do you see not finding the court much?
CW: Great question. At this point, I don’t think there is one guy who has a clear-cut edge over the others. Just going by the eye test, I really believe that Dominique Buckley is due for an awesome season. He’s got a ton of talent, a great basketball mind and the staff loves him. As far as Chris Colvin goes, potential is the key word. He’s got a lot of that. But I see him struggling a little more than the others once we get into the Big 12 season. Do you remember last year when Buckley started surging towards the end of the season? Let’s hope that Colvin can do that this year.
Guitarchitect7 writes…Chizik mentioned that he laid the foundation for any coach to step in and have success, and history has shown that many coaches have success using other coaches’ players. What would you say makes Coach Rhoads and the current football team different from that stereotype – creating their own success and building their own foundation?
CW: I don’t want to come off as a Chizik-hater here so I need to choose my words carefully. Hmmm. Well, basically, this team just seems like they’re more disciplined which ulitimatley means they are better coached. Take the offensive line for instance. That’s coaching. The defense…they don’t have better players. The guys stay at home…and again, are disciplined. It comes down to coaching but that’s just my opinion.
Cmoore_23 writes…Who wins the world series Yankees or Phillies?
CW: The World what? Just kidding. I’ll take the Yankees. Braves fan here. I hate the Philies.
More from Cmoore_23…If Arob needs to come out who is going in?
CW: Bo Williams. Jeremiah Schwartz had his chance according to Coach Rhoads on Monday. Schwartz didn’t take care of business. It’s Bo’s turn to shine.
Status of Benton?
CW: Great question. I need to look into that. Who should I believe…Paul Rhoads or Facebook?
In your opinion, who was the most impressive out of the MBB team and the WBB teams?
CW: I’ll give you two players from the men’s team. Scott Christopherson and Dominique Buckley. Both showed that the Clones will have plenty of depth.
For the women, I haven’t seen them play yet so I’m really not qualified to answer that question.
ISUFan22 writes…The Wildcat has shown some success for us this year, notably against KU. Is it something we’ll see more of? Chances to use ARob as the “quarterback” and option with AA?
CW: What is this “wildcat” you speak of? Just kidding. I don’t have a problem with the offense itself, I just wish it had a different name. You know what I mean? The whole K-State factor…It wouldn’t surprise me if the Clones started using it more. Especially if the offense keeps struggling. In fact, that could be a thing we’ll see a little bit more of on Saturday to help get the boys out of their funk. Having said that, OSU isn’t fond of the spread, just ask Houston. It’s a nice change of pace though.
ISUFan22 writes…We saw some pressure from our defense on the QB against Baylor and Nebraska. Didn’t sound like we got much at all on A&M. Competition or was our scheme different when playing with a lead?
CW: It’s hard for me to tell because of that awful television package the Big 12 currently has. Sorry…had to throw that in there. I think that A&M’s offense probably had more to do with it. They’re really,really good. Baylor and Nebraska’s…not so much. Compare the quarterbacks. Baylor’s got a guy not named Robert Griffin. With Nebraska, it was a now backup named Zac. Now, throw in Jerrod Johnson to the conversation…exactly.
Chuckd473 writes…What has a better chance of happening; ISU football winning 8 games (including postseason) or ISU basketball winning 25 games (including postseason).
CW: That is one of the best questions I’ve ever been asked. It’s tough because I think that both could legitimately happen. But I have to go with one…I’ll take the basketball team. I really think those guys are on the verge of surprising a lot of people. They have it all. An awesome frontcourt. An experienced backcourt. A very good coaching staff and one of the best home court advantages in the NCAA. So there’s my answer…hoops.
CRCy17 writes…I know many are focused on the start of 09-10, but what other kids are the staff looking at for 10-11? I know we have one already and obviously HB but who else are we looking to try to get?
CW: I could talk MBB recruiting for hours. I plan on doing more of this type of stuff once we get everything ironed out with our new site but let me throw out one name for you.
John Wilkins. He’s a 6-foot-9, 205 pound big man out of Southeastern Community College in Iowa. The guy is about ready to start picking up some serious steam. That’s a guy who Iowa State is already recruiting heavily and he’d be a great catch, specifically if Craig goes pro, which he more than likely will. I hear KU is interested. That’s how good he is.
Cycloneworld writes…How can ISU slow down the OSU offense when A&M never had to punt the ball against us?
CW: I’m not sure if that will actually happen. In order for Iowa State to win on Saturday, they’ll simply have to score a lot of points. If the Clones win, they’ll do it in shootout fashion. I don’t see Iowa State shutting down the Cowboys.
Cycloneworld writes…Will you boo Harrison Barnes when Ames High plays in Hilton in December if he commits to Duke?
CW: Of course not. I’ll probably offend somebody here but who cares. You’d have to be a real nut bag to be a grown man or woman and actually boo a high school kid.
Cycloneworld writes: Are you getting sick of Jimmy Johnson winning Cup Championships like I am?
CW: I love racing. I love NASCAR. But this sport doesn’t get it. They need to quit trying to compete with football. NASCAR needs to shorten their season. It’s that simple. But yes, I’m tired of Jimmy. The problem is, he’s a really nice guy. There’s really nothing to not like about him. He’s just kind of boring and he wins too much. He reminds me of Tim Tebow.
247cy has a flurry of questions. Here we go.
I love me some Coach Paul Rhodes! Is it true that he has a Harley and he rides it on recruiting visits to recruits homes?
CW:First of all, you spelled his name wrong. To the question, I have no idea. I have heard that coach is a biker dude though. How sweet would that be? Imaging being a D-1 prospect, waiting for a Big 12 coach to show up to your house and you have PR rolling up in a Harley. With the combo of the Harley and that YouTube video seen roudn the world, I’d commit on the spot.
What is an acceptable percentage one person (a fan) can be behind a coach or a program? My friend thinks that it’s ok to be 200% behind Coach, but I think that is total non-sense. Is 100% the maximum? How do I convince my friend he is an idiot? CW: I say that 90 percent is the maximum…for a coach at least. Think about it. Does that coach know or care who you are? No. So why devote that much energy into one person. Put that passion into the program, but not a coach. Just my opinion. For a program, let’s go with the standard cliché, 110 percent. Anything more is hyperbole and that annoys me.
Reggie Stephens has played in 37 consecutive ballgames for the Cyclones. Who holds the record for consecutive starts on the o-line? Will we see the Stephens Appendix listed for auction by the Athletic department? 1 – I don’t know. 2 – Jamie Pollard and Co. are always looking for ways to fundraise. Might as well give it a shot. Although on Monday, Reggie did tell reporters that he didn’t see the organ after his operation. The big man got a little queasy. Evidentially, Reggie is a gentle giant.
If a group of female tailgaters who are fans of an opposing school post questions on CF regarding the tailgating at Jack Trice, would it be considered uncouth to immediately flirt with them, sans photograph?
CF: No. If a group of girls come onto any message board looking to “have a good time” in another college town, flirting is definitely allowed. The real question is, how many other message boards have these girls worked over in the past few years? Makes no difference to me. Welcome to CF ladies.
The graduation of Rahshon Clark left a hole at the “defensive stopper” role on the men’s BBall team last year. Who is going to fill that role on this year’s team? Will he be a scorer like Clark, or more of a Shawn Bankhead type player who doesn’t score much?
CW: No question here…LaRon Dendy is your man. Mac says he’s got a chance to be “very special” on the defensive end. He’s your guy and yes, he can score. He led the team against an NAIA juggernaut, Black Hills State.
Can popcorn balls, granola bars, and non-coated (caramel or otherwise) fruit truly be considered Halloween candy? My friends and I say absolutely not, though we’re divided on the sort of justice to be meted out for distributors of said ‘treats’. (We did reach a unanimous verdict of egging for givers of dental supplies.) WWCWD?
CW: ANYTHING can be considered Halloween candy by weird people. The weird people part is the key. I remember when I was a kid, when some wise guy would always give away toothbrushes for Halloween. Seriously? Toothbrushes? This is preposterous on two levels. The first is while he’s accomplishing his task of being a wise guy, he just spend more on those toothbrushes than he would have candy. Second, the children of the neighborhood, our countries future, automatically did not like him. Yep. This fun-hater really ticked me off back in the day. Ironically, he lived right next to the man who handed out king sized candy bars. God rest his soul.
ISU_Phoria writes…What are your thoughts on the New “I-State” logo? Do you prefer the new logo with the revised colors (cardinal/gold) to the old logo (red/yellow/blue)? Do you think this logo will help the Athletic Department acheive it’s goals of increasing “brand recognition” amongst fans & recruits? Have you heard any feedback from players/fans/recruits now that the logo has been out there for a couple years?
CW: I hated the red/yellow/blue. The new logo/colors are much better. Having said that, I wouldn’t have gone with the I-State. I would have gone with the old school Cy. You know the one I’m talking about? He’s walking…he looks like a cartoon character. That’s the logo I would have gone with. That my friends is fresh.
Do you see any potential negatives with having our football uniforms look similar to USC’s?
CW: No. No negatives at all. Do you really hear people talking about the Clones copying the Trojans? Nope. I think that Iowa State and USC have some of the best uniforms in all of sports.
ISUonthemove: What have you heard about some of the young guys on defense that are redshirting? Like McDonough, Moore, Woods, some of the DB’s? I know there have been some injuries to them but do you know how much the staff likes them?
CW: I’ve heard very positive comments about Jacques Washington and Jeremy Reeves. That’s good news for the future of the defense. Let me do a little more research and we’ll get back to this question.
